General Fusion
General Fusion is a Canadian company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is developing a fusion power device based on magnetized target fusion (MTF). The company was founded in 2002 by Dr. Michel Laberge. The company has more than 150 employees in three countries, with additional centers co-located with fusion research laboratories near London, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, US.
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fusion power |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Michel Laberge |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia , |
Number of employees | c. 150 |
| Website | generalfusion |
The device under development injects the magnetized target, a plasma mass in the form of a compact toroid, into a cylinder of spinning liquid metal. The target is mechanically compressed to fusion-relevant densities and pressures, by anywhere from a dozen to hundreds (in various designs) of steam-driven pistons.
In 2018, the firm published papers on a spherical tokamak, instead of a toroid. It is unclear if this represents a major design change. In June 2021, the company announced it would build 70% of a full scale fusion demonstration plant in the UK as part of a public-private partnership with the UK Government.